Wednesday 20 March 2013

AUTHOR GUEST POST - P. O. DIXON, FRIENDSHIP AND THE PANGS OF DISAPPOINTED LOVE + GIVEAWAY OF "LOVE WILL GROW"


I'm very glad to welcome P.O. Dixon back to My Jane Austen Book Club. Her new book has just been released and she's here with a new great post to give the you the chance to win your own kindle copy of Love Will Grow. Read P.O.'s piece and take your chances in the rafflecopter form below. The giveaway is open internationally and ends on 27th March. 

“Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love.”
This quotation from Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey aptly illustrates the theme of Love Will Grow. The premise of the story is one of love’s disappointments and the lengths one is willing to go to remedy said sufferings in service of a friend. Love Will Grow begins with Miss Elizabeth and her intimate friend Charlotte Collins. In keeping with Pride and Prejudice, Charlotte is just the sort of friend one can always count on to speak the unvarnished truth. Who would not benefit from wise counsel from time to time? Of course, Elizabeth tends to trust her own opinion over that of others. She considers her friend Charlotte merely intends to tease her by implying that Mr. Darcy admires her.
Then there is the matter of Mr. Darcy and his particular friends. As regards Darcy’s relationship with Colonel Fitzwilliam, I like to suppose the two are more than cousins but rather the best of friends. Although, I must admit the colonel’s boasting of Darcy’s role in separating his friend Bingley from a young lady in Hertfordshire gives me pause. Surely he must have had some inkling that Elizabeth might know the family of the young lady whom Darcy found objectionable. What was he thinking? Without calling his motives into question, I find the colonel’s verbosity is not exactly the truest indication of a friend.
Darcy and Bingley’s friendship is also central in this Pride and Prejudice retelling. Instead of withholding the knowledge of Jane’s affection for Bingley for months, Darcy shares this information with Bingley soon after Elizabeth tells him.
I told Elizabeth that I would undo the damage between her sister and Bingley once I returned to town. Yet what measures have I undertaken? Bingley and I have been in each other’s company several times. I said nothing—nothing about Miss Bennet and how I may have been mistaken about her regard and certainly nothing of having made a fool of myself with Elizabeth. Darcy rang the bell to summon his butler. The time had come to make good on his promise. It was too late for him, but perhaps it was not too late for Bingley. My confession might render irreparable harm to our friendship. I shall take my chances.
Soon afterwards he arrives in Hertfordshire with Bingley in tow and determined to make amends to his friend. This also gives him a chance to earn Elizabeth’s good opinion. Having ample opportunity to sketch Darcy’s character, Elizabeth entertains thoughts of their being dear friends.
Whilst Elizabeth had accustomed herself to the notion of their relationship being only that of friends, she had also convinced herself that said friendship would span many years.
There is very little that Elizabeth will not do for those whom she considers her true friends. The following Pride and Prejudice passage sheds light on Elizabeth’s attitude towards friendship.
“You appear to me, Mr. Darcy, to allow nothing for the influence of friendship and affection. A regard for the requester would often make one readily yield to a request, without waiting for arguments to reason one into it.”
Owing to the camaraderie between the two young women, Elizabeth’s attitude is manifested in her ready acquiescence to aid Anne in her quest to secure a marriage proposal from Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth is candid with Anne. She detects no indication of love in Mr. Darcy towards his cousin, and she tells Anne so. Her feelings on the matter aside, Elizabeth vows to do her best in advocating Anne’s cause. Once she had made a start, one might understand how Elizabeth would come to be a loyal friend, but it begs the question of what exactly is the basis for their amity. Elizabeth responds to her dearest sister Jane as follows in explaining her loyalty to Anne:
“One does not measure the depth of a friendship by the length of time it takes the attachment to unfold.”
Elizabeth is nothing if not a woman who adheres to her convictions. Then again, Darcy can be just as resolute. She is soon faced with quite a dilemma in the form of a very determined Mr. Darcy. Will true love prevail? Or will Elizabeth’s friendship with Anne stand in the way?


P.O. Dixon
Twitter: @podixon

GIVEAWAY 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

27 comments:

Mary Jane Hathaway said...

This looks wonderful!

cyn209 said...

would love to be entered for this giveaway!!
congrats & good luck to P.O. on this release!!

cyn209 at juno dot com

podixon said...

Thanks, Virginia! I'm glad you like the post. Thanks for taking part in the giveaway. Good Luck!

podixon said...

Thank you, cyn209, for wishing me luck on this release. It's been a whirlwind. Thanks so much for taking part in the giveaway. Good Luck!

Sophia - Elizabeth said...

Sounds good Pam! Please enter me for the giveaway!

podixon said...

Thanks, Sophia - Elizabeth. I'm glad you enjoyed the post. Good Luck in the giveaway!

Lúthien84 said...

It is a persuasive introduction to your latest book, Ms Dixon. I like the premise of the story already. Congrats and all the best!

podixon said...

Thanks, Lúthien84. I'm glad you liked this introduction to Love Will Grow. I really appreciate your kind words. Thanks for taking part in the giveaway. Good Luck!

Vesper said...

Sounds like a really good read, thanks for the giveaway and welcom

podixon said...

You're welcome. I am always glad for the opportunity to provide information on Love Will Grow. Thanks for reading the post and taking part in the giveaway. Good Luck, Vesper!

lsilver60 said...

Hi P.O. Dixon,

This certainly sounds like an interesting read. I love all things Austen, especially Mr. Darcy!

BeckyC said...

Great post. I love what ifs and look forward to this one. Thank for the giveaway!

podixon said...

I agree. Of all things Austen, Mr. Darcy is my favorite as well. Thanks, Lily. Good Luck!

podixon said...

You're welcome, Becky. I'm glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for taking part in the giveaway. Best of Luck!

Unknown said...

I find the idea of Elizabeth and Anne becoming friends, and Elizabeth championing Anne to Darcy very intriguing and would love to see how the situation all works out!

podixon said...

Thanks, Nicole. I'm glad you like the idea behind the story. I have long been intrigued by the idea of Elizabeth playing matchmaker between Darcy and one of her friends. Anne was a natural choice for Love Will Grow. I hope you will enjoy it. Best of luck in the giveaway contest.

Denise said...

Thanks for the giveaway!
denannduvall@gmail.com

podixon said...

You're welcome, Denise. Thank you for taking part. Good Luck!

Anonymous said...

This excerpt of your current offering to your fans is quite interesting. I have entered your giveaway. Looking forward to reading the complete story. Thank you.

Elizabeth MacGregor-Kirkcaldy said...

Thank you for the lovely giveaway ~ I love everything "Jane Austen" and I am looking foward to reading your new book, P.O. ~ Cheers ~ Elizabeth

podixon said...

Thanks so much, Elillie, for commenting and taking part in the giveaway. I truly hope you will enjoy reading Love Will Grow. Best of luck!

podixon said...

You're welcome! I am very thankful to Maria for this opportunity to guest post and provide a bit of insight into Love Will Grow. There's lots of Darcy and Elizabeth to entertain P&P lovers. I hope you enjoy the story. Thanks so much for taking part in the giveaway, Elizabeth. Good Luck!

maria said...

After reading this post, I must read the entire novel! It really intrigues me. Thank you for this giveaway :)

podixon said...

You're welcome, Maria. I'm glad you find the story intriguing. I hope you will enjoy it! Thanks so much!

Ceri said...

There are so many Pride and Prejudice variations out that that it always amazes me that authors can come up with something new, but I don't think I've seen this scenario explored before and I definitely would like to read Love Will Grow. I like that Darcy tells Bingley sooner, too.

podixon said...

I'm glad you like the premise of Love Will Grow, Ceri. The story includes lots of air time for Jane. ;-)
Thanks so much for taking part in the giveaway! Good luck!

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